Flocking apparatus



1949 A. J. AMMERALL FLOCKING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 5,1946 4! TOR 2 32x051 M /flm ATTORNEYS Nov. 29, 1949 A. J. AMMERALLFLOCKING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 5. 1946 IN ENTOR dlw MMBY MMSW dd/1M1;

' ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 29, 1949 UNI-TED STATE S PATENT OFFICE ROCKINGAPPARATUS Albert J. Ammerall, Amsterdam, N. Y., assignor to MohawkCarpet Mills. lne., Amsterdam, N. Y., a corporation of New YorkApplication October 5, 1.46, Serial No. 701.561

Claims.

This invention relates to the Production of ilocked fabrics comprising abacking sheet having a layer of flock amxed thereto by a coatin ofadhesive, ordinarily with the individual fibers standing as nearly erectas possible and having one end embedded in the coating. Moreparticularly, the invention is concerned with a novel apparatus forfeeding flock to the coated sheet,

the apparatus functioning to withdraw flock from a supply, break up thelumps and separate the individual fibers, and discharge the fibers at asubstantially uniform rate.

In the production of flocked fabrics for use for example, as carpeting,fibers of various kinds, such as wool, are cut to the desired length andthe fiock so produced is then delivered to the machine in which thefiock is deposited upon the coated backing. In the cutting operation andin the handling of the flock on its way to and through the depositingapparatus, fibers of the flock become lumped together and it isnecessarythat these lumps be broken up and the drawings, in which Fig. Us a sideelevational view, partly in vertical section, through one form of thenew apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1:

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the agitator employed go in the flock hopper;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view, partly in vertical section, showing amodified form of the fibers separated from one another in order that theflock may be fed upon the sheet at a uniform rate. a

Heretofore, the flock has been sifted upon the traveling coated sheet,as by being fed into the interior of a rotary screen of polygonal shape,which extends across the sheet. Such a sitting operation by means of arotary screen is not wholly satisfactory, because it does not result incomplete breaking up of the fiber lumps or feed the flock with thedesired uniformity. It has, accordingly, been proposed to feed the flockto a wool card mounted above the traveling sheet and including the usualcylinder covered with card clothing, pairs of stripper and worker rolls,and a fancy roll for removing-the fibers from the teeth of the cylinder.While such a card is efiective for its intended purpose, it is costly toinstall, maintain in good working order, and operate.

The present invention is, accordingly, directed to the provision of anovel flock feeding apparatus which is superior to the prior apparatusdescribed above, in that it is more eifective than a rotary screen inbreaking up fiber lumps and delivering the flock at a uniform rate andit is simpler and less expensive toinstall, maintain, and operate than acard.

The new apparatus includes a hopper for holding a supply of flock andcontaining an agitator which breaks up lumps and distributes theflockthroughout the hopper. The flock is with-- from the hopper at the lowerend thereof apparatus; and

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of a roll used as for withdrawingthe-flock from the hopper in the Fig. 4 apparatus.

The new apparatus, in the form illustrated in Figs. 1-3, inc., includesa hopper l0 containing a supply of flock. which is delivered to thehopper by any suitable conveying means. The bottom end of the hopper isprovided with an outlet, which is closed by a cylinder rotated byappropriate drive means and provided on its cylindrical surface withteeth It. Such teeth may be formed by the wire used on the licker-in ofa card, and licker-in teeth are illustrated, although shown inexaggerated size to make their shape clear. As the cylinder rotatescounter clockwise beneath the hopper, the wire teeth carry the flockfrom the bottom of th supply, and, in order that the flock may move downsteadily through the hopper, lumps may be broken up, and the flock maybe distributed properly throughout the hopper and over the length of thecylinder, an agitator is mounted within the hopper above the cylinder.The agitator may advantageously comprise a horizontal driven shaftprovided with radial paddles l5 distributed along and about the shaft.The paddles are so mounted that they have a propelling action, and theyare arranged in two groups on either side of the mid-point of the shaft,so as to force the material outwardly from the middle of the hoppertoward the ends of the shaft. Certain successive paddles along the shaftmay be connected by strips |5a of generally helical curvature toincrease the propelling action.

The flock carried away from the hopper at a substantially uniform rateby the teeth l3 on cylinder I2 is removed from between the teeth by aroll l6, which is similar to a fancy roll used on a card and includesstraight wire teeth H, which are shown exaggerated in length. The fancyroll I6 is driven at a greater surface speed than cylinder l2 and thesetting of the cylinder and roll is such that the wire teeth on the rollpass between the teeth on the cylinder and tend to remove the flocktherefrom.

The flock removed from cylinder l2 as described is discharged upon aconveyor which may take the form of a leather or rubber belt l8 trainedabout rolls I9, 20, at least one of which is driven by appropriatemeans. The roll 20 lies close to the surface of a second cylinder 2|,which is preferably of the same diameter as cylinder l2 and rotated inthe same direction and at the same surface speed by suitable drivingmeans. Cylinder 2| is covered with card clothing 22, such as is used ona worsted card. The wires 22a of the clothing are bent, so that theirpoints project in the direction of travel of the cylinder, and they areshown exaggerated in length. As the flock is carried along on belt I8,it is picked up by the wire teeth on cylinder 2| and, to assist in thisaction, a driven roll 23, which is preferably leather covered, ismounted to rest on top of the flock on the belt I8. The belt, the roll23, and the ends of the wire teeth 22a on the cylinder 2|, accordingly,define a pocket 24 into which the flock is continuously fed by the beltand from which the flock is continuously removed by the teeth oncylinder 2|.

In order to prevent lumps of flock from being carried along by cylinder2|, a vibrating comb 25, similar to the doffer comb used in a card, ismounted on arms 26 fast on an oscillating shaft 21 adiacent thecylinder. Neither the particular construction of the vibrating comb northe mechanism for operating it forms any part of the present inventionand it and the mechanism for operating it may be of any form, such, forexample, as shown in the patent to Sheehan No. 1,554,530 dated September22, 1925. The path of vibration of the comb is such that its teeth aretangent to the ends of the wire teeth 22 on cylinder 2|, and any fiberlumps carried by teeth 22a are knocked therefrom and broken up by thecomb and fall upon the surface of roll 23. As this roll rotates, thefibrous material deposited thereon is carried around with the roll anddeposited upon the surface of belt l8.

In order to remove the flock from cylinder 2|, a toothed roll 28 ismounted on the side of the cylinder opposite to the point of delivery ofthe flock thereto. Roll 28 has straight wire teeth illustrated inexaggerated length and is similar in construction to the fancy roll of acard. It is rotated clockwise and has a surface speed, which is two ormore times that of cylinder 2|. The setting of the roll and cylinder aresuch that the teeth on the roll pass between the teeth on the cylinderand remove the flock therefrom. The flock, which is now devoid of fiberlumps, is discharged from between cylinder 2| and fancy roll 28 to fallupon the coated backing sheet 29. The sheet is drawn from a roll 30 andpasses under a body of adhesive 3| and beneath a doctor blade 32, whichdetermines the thickness of the adhesive coating. If desired, the usualelectrostatic means may be employed for aligning the fibers in thestream of flock falling from between the fancy roll 28 and cylinder 2|on their way to the coating on sheet 29.

In the operation of the apparatus, the sheet 29 is moved along at aconstant rate and the belt I 8 also operates at a constant rate. Thesurface speeds of cylinders l2 and 2| may be varied, although thecylinder 2| is always driven at such a surface speed with relation tothat of cylinder I2 that there is no backing up of the flock at thepoint of delivery thereof to cylinder 2|. By varying the speeds of thecylinders, the density of the deposit of flock on the coated sheet canbe varied as desired.

The modified form of apparatus shown in Fig. 4 includes a hopper 33 forholding a supply of flock delivered thereto pneumatically through atransport line 34. An agitator comprising a horizontal shaft 35 withpaddles 36 and helical strips 3! connecting certain of the paddles ismounted within the lower part of the hopper to break up lumps and todistribute the flock throughout the hopper. The hopper has an outletnear its lower end,which is closed by a roll 38 provided on itscylindrical surface with ribs 39 of rectangular cross-section andextending helically about the roll. Roll 38 is driven by suitable meansand, as it rotates, the ribs remove flock from the hopper at asubstantially uniform rate and discharge the flock upon an inclinedplate 40, by which the flock is delivered to the surface of a cylinder4|. The cylinder is covered with wire teeth 42 illustrated inexaggerated length, the teeth being similar to the teeth of worsted cardclothing and mounted with their points extending in the direction ofrotation of the cylinder.

As the cylinder rotates, flock delivered to it along the plate 40 ispicked up by the teeth. Any lumps of flock carried along by the teethare removed therefrom and broken up by a vibrating comb 43, similar tothe vibrating comb 25 of Fig. 1 and mounted on arms 44 fast on anoscillating shaft 45. The comb vibrates along a path tangent to the endsof the teeth and is so disposed that flock removed from the cylinder bythe comb is returned to the flock traveling down plate 40 to thecylinder.

Flock carried by the teeth on the cylinder is removed therefrom by adriven fancy roll 46 having long straight teeth, which pass between thecylinder teeth. The fancy roll is driven at a higher surface speed thanthe cylinder and discharges the flock from the cylinder upon thetraveling backing sheet 41. The sheet is drawn from a supply roll 48 andreceives an adhesive coating by passing beneath a, body of adhesive 49held against the surface of the sheet by a doctor blade 50.

In the operation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 4, the flock is removedat a substantially uniform rate from the hopper by the action of roll 38and the ribs on the roll cooperate with the walls of the opening tobreak up lumps of flock. The flock slides down the surface 0f plate 40to be picked up by cylinder 4| and any lumps that pass roll 38 areremoved from cylinder by the action of the comb. The rate at which theflock is delivered depends upon the speed of operation of roll 38 andcylinder 4|, and the density of the flock applied to the backing sheetmay also be controlled by the rate of travel of the sheet beneath thecylinder.

Iclaim:

1. Apparatus for feeding flock, which comprises a hopper for holding asupply of flock and having an outlet near its lower end, an agitator andpropeller within the hopper, a toothed cylinder mounted for rotation onahorizontal axis, means for removin flock from the hopper andtransferring it to the cylinder to be taken up by the teeth thereon,said means including a rotary member closing the outlet from the hopperand having projections on its surface and conveyor means between saidrotary member and the toothed cylinder, means cooperating with thecylinder beyond the point at which the flock is transferred thereto forremoving lumps of flock from the teeth of the cylinder and returning theflock so removed to the conveyor means, and a fancy roll having teethacting to remove flock from the teeth of the cylinder.

2. Apparatus for feeding flock, which comprises a hopper for holding asupply of flock and having an outlet near its lower end, an agitator andpropeller within the hopper, a toothed cylinder mounted for rotation ona horizontal axis, means for removing flock from the hopper andtransferring it to the cylinder to be taken up by the teeth thereon,avibrating element cooperating with the cylinder beyond the point atwhich the flock is transferred thereto for removing lumps of flock fromthe teeth of the cylinder and returning the flock so removed to thetransferring means, and

a. fancy roll having teeth acting to remove flock from the teeth of thecylinder.

3. Apparatus for feeding flock, which comprises a rotary toothedcylinder, mean for supplying fiock in bulk to the cylinder, a fancy rollcooperating with the cylinder to remove the flock therefrom, a secondrotary toothed cylinder, means for receiving the flock removed from thefirst cylinder and delivering it to the second, means cooperating withthe second cylinder beyond the point of delivery of the flock theretofor removing fiber lumps carried by the cylinder and returning the flockso removed to the delivery means, and a fancy roll cooperating with thesecond cylinder for removing the flock therefrom.

4. Apparatus for feeding flock, which comprises a rotary toothedcylinder means for supplying fiock in bulk to the cylinder, a fancy rollco operatin with the cylinder to remove the flock therefrom, a secondrotary toothed cylinder, a traveling belt upon which the flock removedfrom the first cylinder is deposited, the belt carrying the flock to thesecond cylinder to be picked up thereby, a vibrating comb cooperatingwith the second cylinder beyond the belt for removing fiber lumpscarried by the cylinder and returning the flock so removed to the belt,and a fancy roll cooperating with the second cylinder beyond the combfor removing the flock from the cylinder.

5. Apparatus for feeding flock, which comprises a rotary toothedcylinder, means for supplying flock in bulk to the cylinder, a fancyroll cooperating with the cylinder to remove the flock therefrom, asecond rotary toothed cylinder, a traveling belt upon which the fiockremoved from the first cylinder is deposited, the belt carrying theflock to the second cylinder to be picked up thereby, a roll restingupon the flock on the belt adjacent the second cylinder and cooperatingwiththe belt to supply the flock to that cylinder, means beyond the rollfor removing fiber lumps from the second cylinder and depositing theflock so removed upon said roll for return thereby to the belt, and afancy roll cooperating with the second cylinder beyond the removingmeans for removing the flock from said cylinder.

6. Apparatus for feeding flock, which comprises a hopper for theflock,'a rotary toothed cylinder closing one end of the hopper andremoving the flock therefrom as it rotates, a fancy roll cooperatingwith the cylinder to remove the flock from the cylinder, a secondtoothed cylinder, means for receiving the flock removed from the firstcylinder and delivering it to the second, means cooperating with thesecond cylinder beyond the point of delivery of the flock thereto forremoving fiber lumps from said cylinder and returning the flock soremoved to the delivering means, and a fancy roll beyond the lumpremoving means for removing the flock from the second cylinder.

7. Apparatus for feeding flock, which comprises a pair of toothedcylinders rotating at related surface speeds, means for supplying flockin bulk to the first cylinder, means for removing the flock from thefirst cylinder, means for delivering to the second cylinder the fiockremoved from the first, means beyond the point of delivery of the flockto the second cylinder for removing fiber lumps from the second cylinderand returning the flock so removed to the delivery means, and means forremoving the flock from the second cylinder.

8. Apparatus for feeding flock, which comprises a hopper for holding asupply of flock, a rotary cylinder closing an opening into the hopperand provided with teeth, which remove flock from the hopper as thecylinder rotates, a roll provided with teeth, which cooperate with thoseon the cylinder to remove the flock therefrom, a second rotary cylinder,said cylinder having wire teeth bent in the direction of rotation of thecylinder, a conveyor receiving the flock removed from the teeth of thefirst cylinder and delivering it to the second cylinder to be picked upby the teeth thereon, means disposed beyond the point of delivery of theflock to the second cylinder for removing fiber lumps from the teeth ofsaid cylinder and returning the flock so removed from the deliveringmeans, and means beyond the lump removing means for removing flock fromthe second cylinder.

9. Apparatus for feeding flock, which comprises a pair of toothedcylinders rotating at related surface speeds, a hopper from which flockis delivered to the first cylinder to be carried away by the teeththereon, a fancy roll for removing the flock from the teeth of the firstcylinder, a belt on which the flock removed by the fancy roll isdeposited, the belt delivering the flock to the teeth on the secondcylinder, a roll cooperating with the belt adjacent the surface of thesecond cylinder to deliver the flock, a vibrating comb above the rollfor removing fiber lumps carried by the teeth of the second cylinder,and returning the flock so removed to the belt, and a fancy roll forremoving the flock from the teeth of the second cylinder.

10. Apparatus for feeding flock, which comprises a hopper for holding asupply of flock and having an outlet near its lower end, agitating meanswithin the hopper, a roll closing the outlet and having projections onits surface for removing flock from the hopper, a rotary toothedcylinder mounted on a horizontal axis, an inclined plate along whichflock removed from the hopper by the roll slides into contact with theteeth on the cylinder, means cooperating with the teeth on the cylinderfor removing lumps of flock therefrom and returning the flock so removedto said plate, and a fancy roll having 7 teeth acting to remove flock mmthe cylinder.

the teeth in REFERENCES CHTED The following references are of r me ofthis patent:

ecord in the Number 'Ford et a1 Feb. 19, 3%;

